Language of Flowers
by cyclone5000
Summary: AU. Demons have always abused their strength, taking anything of worth from the Humans. Taichi is the human Prince of a Kingdom and Yamato a wolf demon struggling to meet the demands of the power hungry bureaucracy. The two meet and uncover hidden feelings about themselves and each other. They soon have to decide between giving into their desires, or meeting their expectations.
1. Oxeye: Be Patient

Hi there everyone!

So couple of quick notes I would like you guys to know.

First off, this is actually a rewrite of my first story "Blue Rose." It was a story I posted a few years ago and it...didn't do so well... (I admit it was horrible, I still got the burns from those flamers). So I am attempting to rewrite it, reworking every single little detail and making it 110% better!

Second, this is a **Taichi Yagami x Yamato Ishida** focused romantic story that is **rated M**. There will be Taito, there will be Yamachi, there will be profanity, some violence, and adult scenes. If you do not like Taito/Yamachi, or aren't comfortable handling mature subjects, I ask you to please be open minded and considerate. I'm writing this because I enjoy the idea and wanted to share it, if you don't want a part in this I'm not forcing you to read this.

There will be slight hints of other pairings, such as Sorato, Michi, and _teeny weeny tiny bit ( I mean you have to read in between the lines for these ones) _of Koumi and Jyoura. But again, this is focus on Taichi and Yamato, not really any other romances.

_I don't own Digimon. Obviously. If I did, I wouldn't post this under 'fanfiction'  
__Thank you Yama-chan for the support! :D  
__This chapter was written with the song "Arise" by E.S Posthumus in mind._

Thank you everyone, I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

"Remember Young Prince, steady. Calm yourself and be patient! The arrow wants to hit the target. You just have to let it, so don't try and force it. That is what–"

"I know, Jyou."

"Okay, I'll stop fussing now," The older man, Jyou Kido, stood off to the side. Out of habit he adjusted his thick rimmed glasses and straightened out the robes on top of his suit. He knew that he must always look pristine and clean, after all he was the royal's family personal doctor and servant.

"Tch," The younger male rolled his brown eyes at the man's fussiness. His clothes were dirtier than Jyou's; layers of sweat had cascaded its way down along the back and front of his loose tunic. His dark trousers and shoes were crusted with dust and dirt. A few strands of chestnut hair fell onto his eyes and he quickly blew them out of his peripheral vision.

In his hands he held a strong bow and arrow, his palms were sweaty and he could feel the wood slipping against his skin. Sharply taking a deep breath, the brunette suddenly drew his bow into position pulling the bowstring as far back as he could. His fingers clasped tightly around the back of the arrow and he mentally reminded himself not to twist and twirl the arrow.

"Again, Prince Taichi, steady."

"I know that Jyou!"

"Just making sure Young Master..."

"Ugh, I hate this," The young prince muttered, trying his hardest to hold his arms steady. Closing his left eye, he tried aiming at the target as accurately as possible. He could feel his arms starting to strain, the fingers grasping the arrow slipping, and his whole upper torso starting to scream 'Hurry up!' Taking another sharp breath, he tried to stop all necessary thoughts from invading his mind.

Within the second he let the arrow go. Feeling the thin arrow zoomed past him, his muscle started to relax knowing that everything now was out of his control. His chocolate brown eyes didn't waver nor blink as they focused on the arrow, hopeful that his actions would lead him to hit the target dead center.

A small thunk later, and the tan brunette's hope laced eyes fell into disappointment.

"And this is why I hate archery!" The Prince pointed at the arrow that was well away from the center, "It takes way too much work, and I'm not even good at it! Honestly! I have better things I can be doing with my time!"

"Young Master please," Jyou let out a sigh knowing all too well of his Prince's brash expectations, "Archery is a useful skill; you have to learn and master it."

"The hell I do!" Prince Taichi retorted, "I can fight better with a sword and my fists, I don't need to learn how to shoot an arrow, that's why other people in this castle can!"

"Those other people aren't the Prince of the royal Yagami family, or inheritors of the Southern Kingdom."

"…You can't even shoot an arrow!"

"I'm a doctor, Prince Taichi. I heal people who have been in fights; I don't get in the fights."

"Well if I was in a fight I would grab my sword instead." Taichi huffed, tossing the bow and arrow to the side, and grabbing his sword. It was a blade that his father had given to him on his recent 15th birthday. The sheathe was sturdy enough to be its own weapon, and the hilt on the sword was fashioned in gold plating with a carving of a sun in the middle.

"Yes you would. And I understand that," Jyou again adjusted his glasses and straightened his robes, "But tell me Prince Taichi, would you want a demon to get close enough for you to use your sword? Or would rather be safe and hit them far away with an arrow?"

"…" Taichi ran his hands through his wild and thick mess of hair and casually shrugged, "I'm not afraid of any demon."

Jyou's gray eyes grew narrow with controlled distaste, "Young master."

"What? I'm strong! No man in the castle can beat me. Hell, even Father can't beat me!"

"But it would be safer and more sensible to not let the demons onto our land!" Jyou raised his voice hoping that his words would reach through the young man's arrogant skull, "Even after all the effort your ancestors have put into building The Wall. Demons from the forest still manage to get over it and come into our land, taking whatever they please."

"Ugh not this again," The Prince rolled his eyes remembering the speech that Jyou, his father, and the entire castle would tell him over and over again.

"We are the Southern Kingdom! Our Kingdom is right across from where the Demons live in the forest! If our kingdom falls, than nothing stands in the demon's path of ruining the rest of the human lands! I mean look at our kingdom now! It's in shambles! We don't have any vegetation, any means or resources for us to grow, and not to mention living under the constant fear of the demon's evil reign!"

"I know."

"As the only male heir of his majesty, King Susumu Yagami, you will inherit the kingdom! And will be appointed a Guardian of The Wall! You must be prepared! That means understanding the politics of ruling the land, having the heart to deal with the agony and feelings of your people, being strong enough to lead the guards and armies, protecting The Wall the seperates the human lands from the Demon Forest and most importantly," Jyou looked at the Prince's brown eyes without hesitation.

"Making sure that the Demons don't take anymore from us."

"Yes, Jyou," Taichi grumbled letting out a huge sigh as to not sound too mean or angry, "I know. I've been knowing. Ever since I could understand human speech!"

"Good," Jyou adjusted his glasses, "Then that is why you must learn archery. The fewer amounts of demons that come over The Wall the better! _Meaning_ that they are out of _range_ for your sword."

"Yeah, yeah," Taichi stood up against the wooden wall, "Anything else you want to repeat for the thousandth time?"

"Prince Taichi, I have to–"

_**DONG**_

"You might want to hold that thought Jyou."

_**DONG**_

"What? No. Th-The sun has barely started to set! The demons can't be here now!"

"Well, the bell doesn't ring whenever it feels like Jyou."

_**DONG**_

"…I'm going to aid the personnel of the castle!"

"Haha, think archery's going to do me any good now?"

"Prince Taichi!" Jyou stopped dead in his tracks, turned to face the royal teenager.

"I'm just saying I'm right!" Taichi put his hands up defensively before tying his sword to his belt, "I'm going to go find my dad and Koushiro. Hide the women and children, and then tell the men to wait for orders. First we have to find out the type and purpose of the demons. Until then no one takes action unless me or my father say so!"

"Yes, your majesty!" And with that Jyou ran out of archery range and into the halls of the Yagami castle.

Taichi looked up at the sky. The sun was just above the horizon, painting the sky in a rich orange color. As the sun went down centimeter per centimeter, the orange changed darker until it was red, "I don't like this," Taichi spoke out loud, before running down from the dreaded archery range and into the passageway of his castle.

* * *

"This should do it," Taichi said to himself as he attached a chest plate and grabbed a pair of thick leather gloves. It might have been safer to wear thick and heavy armor when facing a demon, but if there was one thing that Taichi prized most in a fight; it would be mobility.

"Prince Taichi!" A voice from behind him called out, "Taichi-sama!"

"Ah, Koushiro!" Taichi turned around to see a smaller red-headed man to running to catch up to him. Koushiro Izumi, not being one to take up arms and scream war cries, was dressed in his normal suit and robes bearing the Yagami initials in a monogram on the back, "Why are you here? Where's my father?"

Koushiro halted, breathing heavy trying to find the proper words, "Your father is with the soldiers out front."

"Already? What's the status?"

"Uh well," Koushiro stood up straight and looked at Taichi, "It's a peculiar situation. We have reports saying that a wolf demon managed to climb over the wall and sneak its way into the castle. There's only one of them and so far we haven't been able to locate him. Not to mention, we still don't know what its motives are."

"What's so strange about that?" Taichi raised his eyebrow quizzically.

"It's a wolf demon." Koushiro started to explain, "Wolves travels in packs. Yet this one doesn't seem to be accompanied by any others."

"Maybe he's just getting a head start and others will join him soon." Taichi quickly responded, "Make sure that we don't send all of our hands after that one demon. We'll need several good men outside to stop any others from getting in."

"Yes, The King has thought of that has started progressing on that note. He has–"

"What about the defenseless? Are they hidden away?" Taichi rushed in before Koushiro could start anything else, "Hikari? Where is she? She's safe isn't she?"

"Princess Hikari …should be safe."

"Should be?"

"She was in her quarters before all this started; the wolf demon shouldn't be able to reach there so easily." Koushiro defended his answer in hopes of calming the young lord as best he could.

"So all that stands between my precious baby sister and a ruthless demon, is a long set of stairs in mess of hallways?" Taichi's raised his voice, causing the Koushiro to shrink.

"Well, um…I'll send some men right away. There were a couple of guards in front of her room so it's not like shes waiting on a silver platter. You need to calm down, you can't function properly if you are too worked up."

"Whatever," Taichi scoffed, "Make sure they get there quick! I'll go help my father and then you–"

**"_AAAAHHHHH!" _**A female's distant voice screamed. The sheer familiarity of the tone cause Taichi's blood to freeze, and his 'flight or fight' senses to kick in.

"Taichi-sama, wait a second. Just calm down–"

"I'm going to Hikari! Go do whatever the hell you want!" Taichi shoved Koushiro to the wall, before abandoning the noble with lightning speed.

"Don't get too worked up Taichi!" Koushiro yelled at the sprinting prince despite knowing that it would fall on deafened ears, "Honestly…Please Taichi-sama, be careful!"

"Yeah, Yeah!" Taichi yelled back to at least acknowledge Koushiro's words. At this time though, the only thing that matter was getting to his younger sister, and getting there _fast_ before the demon could do anything to her.

Its times like these that Taichi wished that the castle wasn't so big. He knew how to navigate through the identical stone corridors and the similar sets of staircases; but it just took too long to get from one place to another.

"_Onii-san…why can't I do the things you can?"_

"_Well um…that's because Jyou-san said that you're sick, that your heart won't be able to handle certain things. But don't worry! You don't need to do everything Hikari, that's why your big brother is here!"_

The images of his younger sister, Princess Hikari, kept popping up in his head. As if the sheer stress of his home being attacked wasn't enough.

_Her lightly colored eyes started to tear up, "But what if something happens? What if I can't defend myself? …what if….the same thing that happened to mom–"_

"_What are you going on about Hikari," Taichi ran and gave his sister a warm and loving hug. Wiping away tears that were beginning to form, "I'm here aren't I?"_

Finally locating the stairs which lead up to the western wing (and consequently his sister's room) he found himself bolting up the stairs, a ready hand on the hilt of his sword, "Fuck!" Taichi cursed as he saw the bloody tangled mess of guards outside his sister's door.

"_Don't worry Hikari, as your big brother I won't let anything bad ever happen to you!"_

Heart pumping with distress and adrenaline Taichi kicked down the doors to the room and ran inside. Taichi swung out his sword, spotting his sister cowering in the corner and the wolf demon growling across from her. The room was already a mess furniture, books and bed sheets messily strewn across the room.

"Get. Away. From my sister!" Taichi used all his upper body strength to strongly hurl his sword in the demon's direction. The metal of the grand sword clashed against the stone floor in front of the demon, the ringing sound piercing the demon's sensitive ears halting the wolf and making it gripe loudly.

"Nii-san!" Hikari opened her teary eyes to see her brother. She started to wipe her tears, her panicked expression flushing away with relief.

"Everything is going to be fine now," Taichi softly smiled seeing as his sister was unharmed. Walking in front of her he pulled out his deeply wedged sword with ease and held the blade firmly in his down the wolf demon that had started to regain its focus, "I don't know what you want or if you can even understand me."

Taichi's brown eyes met the wolf's arctic blue eyes. The complexity of the color made it difficult to just pass the eyes as simply blue. Regardless of this fact, Taichi noticed the demon's will to fight, pride, prowess, and determination to get what it wanted.

"But you just messed with the wrong guy's sister," Taichi threatened pointing his blade at the gray, black and grizzled wolf.

The demon growled and bark in response, accepting the prince's challenge. Lowering its legs and bearing its fangs at the human's fighting pose. The demon eyed his new found target with scrutiny and annoyance. As if the canine didn't want to waste time in a pointless fight if it didn't have to.

"HAH!" Taichi yelled out as he slashed his sword in a broad diagonal slash, aiming for the wolf. The demon skillfully jumped backward, dodging the sword with bolting speed. Taichi irked his eyebrow and grit his teeth; he hadn't faced too many opponents that could dodge his sword so easily.

The wolf demon ran back at Taichi, using its muscular hind legs to jump upward. The beast opened its mouth of sharp teeth and fangs ready to attack the human's neck, but Taichi was no amateur. The prince quickly switched sword hands and sidestepped to the demon's left raising his right hand in an upward stab. The wolf, taken aback that a human could match his speed, contorted its body to dodge the large sword. The wolf landed on the floor unharmed, but not in the least bit graceful.

Taichi couldn't help but smirk, swinging his sword in circles as to not allow any openings and went to town attacking the wolf. The wolf was quick enough to dodge every slash and jab, but Taichi could handle his sword as if he was permanently attached to him. No matter the direction the wolf tried to attack, there was no weak point in the human's swordsmanship.

"Not used to this are you now?" Taichi's cockiness starting bubbling up, he was still on the offensive controlling his swings and thrusts to back the demon away from his sister. The wolf demon snarled in a flash of irritation and anger, jumping back a couple feet away from the human. Ears perched back and crouched low to the floor, the wolf ran across the room gaining speed and knocking down whatever came in its way.

Taichi bit his lip unsure of what to expect from the speedy wolf. He grabbed his sword with both hands and protectively stood in front of his sister. The wolf quickly jumped on top the bookcase and then leaped onto the wall that lies adjacent to where the prince was standing. The brunette's flashed into a mode of apprehension and amazement, not expecting the wolf to pull off a move like that. The wolf growled as he leapt off of the wall jaw open and teeth sharp. Taichi, unsure of what he should do a flying demonic wolf, quickly slashed his sword in a broad horizontal slice.

The wolf's icy eyes narrowed in delight, reading the human perfectly and changing the flow of the fight in his favor. Using the force of his jaws and teeth the wolf bit down of the sword, stopping it in mid swing and completely immobilizing the human.

"Shit," Taichi muttered to himself, realizing the predicament he was now in. Not wanting the demon to bite down on his sword and break it, the prince used all of the strength in his arms to push down on the sword. Pushing the demon down and himself up, Taichi pivoted his body off of the hilt of his sturdy blade, punching the wolf on the side of its leg and sending it flyingtoward the wall.

The wolf's felt a throbbing pain in his leg and a sudden shift in direction that made him defy gravity. With animal like reflexes, the demon wolf threw the sword out his mouth, sending the blade zooming past the weapon's owner and jammed in the corner of the ceiling before he hit the wall with devastating force.

The demon shakily stood up from the rubble, and took a small glance at the indent he just made into the solid stone wall. Finally the tables have turned in his favor, the demon darted towards the human fangs and claws ready to attack his target.

Taichi looked down, flexing his hands feeling incomplete without his favorite sword. Hearing the light footsteps of the demon, he turned on his heels and made a pair of fists. The demon jumped up once again and Taichi swung his arm in a left hook aiming for the same spot that he had punched earlier. The demon, thankful that the annoying sword was out of the way, scratched the fist away and promptly bit down on his upper left arm.

"Onii-san!" Hikari cried out as she saw her brother getting his arm bitten by the wolf.

Taichi's mind blanked out, overwhelmed with searing red pain, and desperately tried to push the demon off of him. The wolf's mouth was powerful and the iron grip only seemed to get tighter with every push and tug Taichi made on the wolf's thick fur and neck. In frenzy, Taichi hurled himself down. Body-slamming the demon attached to his arm, and wanting to bring him as much pain as his human weight could allow.

The wolf felt the entirety of his body crushing and yelped out loudly. Taichi pulled his arm out of the demon's mouth and using his good arm unleashed a flurry of punches onto the wolf demon, punching him further into the ground. Hearing the wolf let out a painful whine, Taichi gave one more solid punch on its leg joint before jumping off of him.

He geared up and delivered a good strong kick that sent the hurt wolf flying into the wall once more. Taichi was reaching his limit, being out of breath and sporting a huge gaping bite on his arm was not the best situation to be in when facing a wolf demon.

"Oh no…" Hikari saw the ribbons of blood flowing out of her brother's arm, "This is why I tell you to wear plated armor! You almost got your arm bitten off!"

"Heh, don't worry Hikari! This barely stings!" Taichi smiled confidently trying to put his sister's worries to rest.

Taichi quickly snapped back into his battle stance, the wolf demon was smart and unrelenting. There was no oppurtunity wasted when it came to the wolf's fighting style. At least that's what Taichi thought.

The demon stood up slowly, taking its time regaining its posture. The wolf stood tall, not shaking in the slightest, and Taichi wasn't able to tell how hurt it was underneath its gray double-coat. The wolf was as still as a statue, not even snarling or growling like how he had been since the prince first saw it.

"What's wrong? Given up?" Taichi taunted, smiling mischievously expecting the wolf to glare at him once again. His smile soon faded as the wolf remained standing still. The canine's fangs that were white as pearls were coated red with the Taichi's blood. The wolf tongue licked its teeth gingerly as if it was scared of getting burned.

Taichi saw the wolf's pupils dilate. The thin focused slits, growing more round and clouded. The wolf turned its head and looked straight at the human.

"Careful Onii-san!"

All the previous emotions that Taichi could read before had dissipated from those cloudy eyes. The blue eyes were no longer icy, but oceanic. Sucking in Taichi with a force he never felt before. The demon had changed his mind…but to what? What was this newfound fixation the demon now had?

"Onii-san? What's wrong? Don't you see the avian demon that just flew in?"

Taichi's eyes wavered as the wolf stepped closer to him. Just what were those eyes clouded with? What was this emotion that this demon was projecting to him? Taichi's blood didn't run cold as if he was scared or panicking. His heart was beating wildly, the blood rushing all throughout his body making him feel uncomfortably hot. He didn't know what this demon was feeling, and why he was being affected so much. But as much as he didn't like it, the brown eyes couldn't stop looking at the cerulean eyes.

"NII-SAN!"

Taichi felt his reason slipping, his legs weakening, the throbbing pain in his left arm going numb. All he could see where those blue eyes. The eyes are were more brilliant than any sapphire, more richer than than hue, the gorgeous eyes that no human eye could ever hope to compare to.

"NII-SAN LOOK OUT!" A piercing scream shouted out, and Taichi felt a sudden weight fall on him and push him to the ground.

Taichi blinked snapping himself from the wolf's spell bounding eyes and looked down at himself to see his sister laid out on top of him, "What the? Hikari!" Taichi pulled his sister into his arms and winced when he saw her pained expression. His eyes widened when he saw the line of black-red feathers line along the side of her right arm.

"Idiot...how many times do I have to tell you to pay attention," Hikari's fragile voice squeaked out.

"I'm so sorry Hikari," Taichi apologized, rocking her tenderly. He pulled one of the feathers out from her arm, squeezing the tip slightly seeing purple ooze form out them, "Poison…"

"What?"

"Nothing Hikari, don't worry about anything."

"...'Mkay..."

Taichi looked at the ceiling trying to spot the bird demon that just poisoned his sister he cursed once more when he saw nothing. His eyes fell back to where the wolf was standing and saw that he wasn't alone now. The bird demon was larger than a natural bird; it was largely red with a black tail and wings. The bird pecked at the wolf, snapping the beast from its trance.

Hikari started coughing violently, shifting Taichi's attention once again and he hastily pulled out all of the feathers from her arm, "What did you two do to my sister?" Taichi yelled directing his anger at the two demons that paid no attention to him. The wolf softly barked while the bird screeched, the two beasts conversing with each other in a way that the human did not understand, "HEY!"

The wolf looked back at him, and Taichi found his voice losing power. The mysterious emotion was still present its eyes and Taichi was at a loss of words and willpower. The bird pecked at the wolf once again before either of them could get mesmerized once again.

"Here they are!"

"Taichi-sama! Are you alright?"

"Jyou…Koushiro!" Taichi called out when he spotted the two in the room's doorway accompanied by some other soldiers. Taichi turned to see the bird demon glaring at the wolf with deadly fury. The canine barked softly at the bird, the winged demon stretched out its wingspan and flew towards a window.

"Quick! Don't let them get away!" Koushiro yelled at the men behind him, having the small unit run past the humans and head at the demons.

The wolf demon growled at the men and looked at the prince one last time. The crystalline eyes making one last connection before the wolf huffed and ran past the royal siblings. Sprinting through the guards, the demon jumped through the window, unfazed by the shards of glass that were flying past him. The bird flew behind the wolf and the two demons landed elegantly before running away from the castle.

"Damn it all," Koushiro cursed, "…Ugh, never mind them. You men fix up the castle!"

"YES SIR!" The plated men bowed their head in respect and started hustling around the room to carry out their orders.

"Young Master?" Jyou walked up to the siblings, calling out softly as a doctor would to a patient.

"Uh, yeah," Taichi shook his head attempting to clear out the azure eyes from his mind, "Hikari has been poisoned by the bird, tend to her immediately." Taichi put his unconscious sister into Jyou's arms. Placing the feathers she was struck with into one of his free hands.

"What about you sire?" Jyou asked glancing directly at Taichi's bloody arm.

Taichi looked at his arm and felt the pain of the wolf's bite, "I'm fine. I'll be down shortly, just take care of Hikari first."

"But–"

"Just do it Jyou."

"…Yes Prince Taichi…" Jyou stood up fully walking out of the room careful to not disturb Hikari any further.

Taichi sighed deeply trying to calm his nerves as the hands of his castle ran around him cleaning up the messed of stone and disarray the demons have caused. Taichi tried to close his eyes and relax, but the sensation of the oceanic blue eyes kept popping up in his head. Increasing his heartbeat instead of cooling it down.

"Taichi-sama?" Koushiro called out standing next to the sitting Prince, "You alright?"

"…Yeah…" Taichi stood up, getting a little bit of help from the redhead, "So uh…did we ever find out what the wolf demon was after?"

"Not at all," Koushiro sighed out, letting go of Taichi once he was upright and stable, "No other wolf demons came out either. Wolves stay in packs; I don't understand why one would just go off on its own."

"What about the bird demon?" Taichi clutched his arm looking around and seeing a group of men trying their hardest to pull out his sword from the upper corner of the room.

"I don't know at all really," Koushiro explained not minding that the questioner was wandering away from him, "This whole situation is just so crazy! I suppose different demons can work together, but I myself have never witnessed something like this. The wolf demon had a purpose in coming here, it's just difficult to determine."

"It attacked Hikari," Taichi motioned for the men to get off the ladder and make way for him, "Why would a wolf demon be after her?"

"Hikari-sama?" Koushiro rubbed his chin questioningly, "Hm…I can't say for sure…but maybe it was something Hikari has?"

"Like my sister would have anything a wolf would want."

"Well I don't mean like an object or money," Koushiro defended, "I mean maybe it was just after her blood or femininity."

"…Blood?"

"Blood is the makeup of every individual. You can change everything but not your blood."

"…I see…" Taichi climbed up the ladder and grabbed his sword with his good hand, pulling it out as easily as pulling a sharpen knife out of a cake. He stepped down from the ladder, putting the sword back into it's sheathe.

Taichi recalled the wolf's gaze, how captivating his eyes were. Demons are instinctive creatures, he knew that, but just what was wolf thinking? Are demons so different from humans that they have their own set of the emotions? Just why was he feeling like this? The image of those round eyes kept lingering in his head, and the unknown feelings kept festering around in his heart.

"Taichi-sama are you okay? You seem a little flushed…"

"Yeah I'm fine," Taichi lied not wanting to mention that his heart was racing because of a mere demon, "I'm going down to check on Hikari." Taichi walked past the men in the room and headed down to the halls.

"Right…" Koushiro walked after the teen, "Well I'm going down to make sure you get your arm bandaged." The red head gave a small smile, leaving the room for the rest of the hands to get to work.

* * *

"Jyou you here?" Taichi yelled out, entering the large infirmary room in the castle, "Jyou?"

"Taichi-sama lower your voice, this is where the hurt need rest," Koushiro reprimanded the ill-mannered prince, looking around the roomy space, "Jyou probably took Hikari to the closed off part of the clinic, sit down here I'll find someone to take care of your arm."

"I want to see how Hikari is first!" Taichi whined, still sitting on one of the stools protruding out from bare table.

"And I want you to stop dripping blood everywhere," Koushiro looked at the bloodied left arm. The previous off-white sleeve was torn up and scarlet, making the scholar bite his lip nervously.

"Oh no, Prince Taichi!" A female nurse came out from one of the rooms in the clinic. She was dressed in the proper white nursing dress, her blonde hair held back in a headband, "What happened to you!"

"Hey Catherine," Taichi waved at the nurse who stood agape at his hurt arm.

"He got bit by the wolf demon that invaded today. Please take proper care of him," Koushiro asked politely thought he probably didn't need to seeing as the young girl starting running around the medical wing immediately, sitting across from Taichi once she found her needed equipment.

"Arm please," Catherine instructed and the prince complied. She began washing the arm with warm water, making Taichi wince at the stinging sensation creeping up his arm. With most of the blood gone, Taichi could see the gashes of teeth marks the wolf had left behind on him, "I'm sorry…this wound is most likely going to scar…"

"Its fine," Taichi saw the deep bite mark, "It's better than having my arm broken right?"

"I suppose," Catherine smiled and continued cleaning the wound, before getting started on wrapping the arm tightly with bandage tape.

The doors of corner most room opened and out walked the master of the Southern Kingdom King Susumu Yagami. The King stood tall and proud, despite the forlorn facial expression he had on his aged face. His clothes remained regal and untouched by any dirt, dust, or sweat. Soon after Jyou walked out, taking off the gloves on his hands and tossing a book in his hands.

"Father?" Taichi called out from his seat capturing the King's attention.

"Taichi!" The King's regal voice boomed a deep baritone, "Are you alright my son?"

"I'm good," Taichi waved off the injury, "You?"

"I wouldn't be able to show my face to the people if I had gotten hurt."

"Oh wow," Taichi couldn't help but smile at his father's pride that he most definitely inherited. His happy face soon softened, "Is Hikari alright?"

"Well…um…" King Susumu stood across from his son, his wise eyes down casted unable to look at his progeny directly, "Jyou please explain."

"Okay then, there's good news and bad news," Jyou adjusted his glasses, taking the helm of this conversation. He avoided the questioning gazes of Taichi and Koushiro unsure of how to look them in the eye, "Good news is: Hikari was infected with an organic poison rather than venom."

"Meaning?" Taichi interrupted, moving his bandaged up arm closer to his body. Catherine giving him a look of disproval for she wasn't done wrapping the bite mark up.

"Meaning," Jyou ignored the rudeness as he was already used to it, "An antidote is much easier to make. In fact this is a known poison and we found a recipe for an antidote."

"Well then that's great!" Taichi exhaled a huge breath of relief.

"What's the bad news?" Koushiro asked, being more skeptical than his lord.

"The bad news is…um…" Jyou nervously looked downward, "...well it's...um..."

"What?" Taichi asked, his naïve chocolate eyes drilling the doctor, "Just say it!"

"...The antidote can only be made with a white yarrow."

Koushiro closed his eyes in anguish, rubbing his hands against his forehead and thorough his thick maroon hair.

"Oh no...Princess Hikari..." Catherine's pale blue eyes began to water and her body sunk into her chair.

King Susumu crossed his arms, leaning on the countertop his broken hearted face staring at the ground.

"Wait what?" Taichi furrowed his brow at the despair that everyone was expressing, "What's wrong with that? What's yarrow?"

"..." The King looked at his son, not too surprised that he didn't understand the situation, "Son, a white yarrow is a flower."

Taichi's heart fell into his stomach, "No."

"Yes, a flower."

"But that means-"

"Means that it lies within the Demon's Forest."

* * *

Wow that's long...I was not planning for it to be this long...don't expect chapters to be like this every single time.

Couple questions/improvements I need to make. I am the worst when it comes to pacing. Scenes in my head are so vivid and detailed, and translating that into coherent and interesting words is difficult for me. If things seem out of place, poorly worded, or strained out etc. Let me know exactly so that I can improve.

Next would be the honorifics. So I used Japanese honorifics, (Taichi-sama, Onii-sama etc. ) but I'm not really comfortable using these. I wanted to use some line of suffixes and such because I feel that it adds more depth and connection than just saying "Taichi" or "Brother". I speak Hindi, and we do have our or honorifics that is similar to Japanese, (how you address someone is based off of your relationship as well as how close you are to one another) so that's why I wanted to use them. This story isn't really set in Japan though, so let me know whether or not it makes sense or a different method of getting the points across.

Other than that, was it good? Was it bad? Do I need another hobby? Do I need to get my butt into gear and write the next chapter? I won't know unless you review so please give me your thoughts!

Thank you for reading!


	2. Variegated Tulip: Beautiful Eyes

Hello there everyone! :D Thank you for being so patient with my _slow_ updates.

So quick adjustments, I remember with my "Blue Rose" story each chapter was a name of a flower for it's special meaning. I'll forgot about that for the first chapter, but I'll be placing that little tradition from now on.

Also, I'm a chemical engineer. Not a botanologist, or plant scientist. I've done my research on flowers and plants for this story, but I did skew some things to make them fit with in my AU. If you are more knowledgeable about this subject matter, please educate me. But remember, I did want things to be a certain way so that's why some details have been overlooked.

Reviewers: GAH! Thank you so much for such lovely comments! Bibi I've seen you around in other stories, so thank you for reading mine. Anon, thank you for the words of encouragement. I think I already messaged Yama-chan and then DaBunneh, but I'll say it again. Thank you so much for encouraging my work.

_Edits:  
I changed the typo I made that Yama-chan pointed out to me Can't believe I wrote Prince Hikari not Princess.  
Also this chapter was written with the songs: Nightwood by Uyama Hiroto and Aerith's Theme in FF7 by Nobuo Uematsu. (these songs really bring out the mood of a forest!)  
_

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Everyone knew what flowers entailed; it's been the truth and standard throughout their lives. But hearing the truth so bluntly twisted the knife in their hearts.

Catherine continued sobbing, her cries and hiccups folded into the lingering tension. Koushiro leaned against the countertop with his head hung low; he remained silent as the cogs in his head were spinning, working around the harsh reality. Jyou swallowed his emotions, trying to maintain a professional composure as a burning sensation ate away at his throat.

Taichi felt the entirety of his body freezing. A flower? That was the deciding factor for Hikari's life?

"It's going to be tough. For all of us," King Susumu cut through the tension with his bold voice. His face read calm, his posture was soothing, and he seamlessly took charge of the room while still holding compassion, "But we can get through this. What's important is that we make Hikari as comfortable as possible. And to provide all that she needs and wants until her time…comes to pass."

"What?" Taichi stuttered. Was he…just supposed to accept Hikari's death?

King Susumu saw his son's reaction but ignored him, turning his attention elsewhere, "Jyou. How much time does Hikari have?"

"Uh well…the poison is deadly and fast. A normal man would barely last a week without proper treatment." Jyou looked at Taichi who remained lost, and then to his King who narrowed his eyes with power, "…um, so given Princess Hikari's health condition, she has….two. Maybe three days longer." His voice stumbled over the overwhelming pain.

"Well we are going to have to make the best of our time then," King Susumu responded not allowing anyone to interject before him, "Hikari is going to have our undivided attention. She shall be our top priority and it's our responsibility to take care of her."

The wise king swallowed his words carefully, "I understand the pain. And it's hard I know. But for Hikari's sake, we will have to be strong. And then when her time, finally comes–"

"Hold on a minute!" Taichi slammed his fist against the counter top; wincing as he realized he used his freshly wounded arm. Shaking the pain off, Taichi questioned with a tone opposite of his father, "Why are you guys acting as if she is already dead!? Hikari is still alive, and there is still time to save her!"

"Taichi, there is nothing that can be done," King Susumu sensibly answered Taichi with a frown, "If there was something that could be done, I would then do so. But this isn't a fairy tale Taichi. We limited in our options, and we can't do anything to change this."

"But there is something we can do," Taichi stood in front of his father. Taichi's knuckles were turning white with contained anger, his almond eyes narrowed at his father trying to get his message across, "Jyou said that there is a way to cure Hikari! Instead of just sitting around doing nothing, we could at least try to find the flower!"

"Taichi-sama, please…" Koushiro meekly spoke out his head still spinning.

"Shut it Koushiro!" Taichi screamed causing Koushiro to visibly cringe before returning his attention back to his father, "Dad, how could you even say something like this!"

"Because it's the truth. You won't find a flower anywhere in the four kingdoms. Nobody wants to doom Hikari's fate Taichi. But she won't be able to survive this."

"You don't know until you try though! I mean you just going to let Hikari die? Just like that! Without even trying to save her?! What kind of a father does nothing while his daughter is dying!?"

King Susumu's eyes turned dark and his voice dropped to a dangerously low octave, "Watch how you talk to your father boy."

"Do you really think I'm going to just watch my sister die?" Taichi's anger was unaltered and he continued to challenge his father, "We just have to get a flower right? Then let's get it!"

"If it was that simple, I would be the first one running around trying to find it!" Taichi's father raised his voice, "We don't have the soil or ability to maintain plants of any kind! I can't even remember when the last time we had rain was! Our land is nothing more than piles of dust; how do you expect a flower to bloom here?"

"The probability isn't zero though! We have four HUGE kingdoms. If it isn't in this kingdom, there's a chance it's in another. !"

"Taichi, your father is right," Jyou gently butted into the father and son clash. The doctor read straight out of a book he was loosely holding, "Yarrows are an invasive plant, they flourish in wide open places so long as the seeds are able to break out into soft enough soil."

"Our ground isn't able to growing flowers such as these." Koushiro added to Jyou's argument. He shifted slightly, getting over Taichi's last outburst at him, "In fact, all the earth in the human kingdoms are dry and cracked. You won't find any plants on our part of the world. Especially not these flowers."

"Well…isn't there…" Taichi felt the stabs of reality hitting his back, "Isn't there some other way we can stop the poison?" Taichi's voice cracked as his eyes beseeched the doctor.

"I'm…afraid not. The poison floods the body's system to function with toxins. It enters through the blood stream and directly comes into contact with vital organs," Jyou turned the book around showing Taichi the pages he was reading, "The white yarrow is a medical flower that floods toxins out of the body. With the potency of the poison, this flower is the only thing that can counteract the venom."

King Susumu softened his expression, trying to be as gentle as possible, "Son, I know this is not what you want to hear. No one here wants this to happen to Hikari."

"…Then we should be able to do something."

"What do you think we should do then?"

"I…" Taichi paused. His stability and confidence slipping out as defeat and actuality bubbled inside him, "…I don't know…" The brunet closed his eyes in bitter pain.

The only way Taichi could save his sister was to get the white yarrow. But that stupid flower can only be found with the Demon Forest. A forest that has been the source of all the misfortune his kingdom has been forced to deal with.

The worst part for Taichi is that Hikari shouldn't have been poisoned in the first place. If he had just paid attention instead of letting that wolf demon get the best of him! Taichi mentally cursed the demon, damning the canine and its stupid pretty eyes.

What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to get the flower? It's not like he could walk over The Wall and grab a flower from the Demon's Forest!?

Right?

"Well…" Taichi snapped his eyes open, eyeing everyone acutely, "Why don't we just go into the Demon Forest and get the white yarrow?"

All the tension and grief lay still for a moment.

"…Excuse me?" King Susumu eyed his son.

"Let's go into the Demon Forest, find the flower and save Hikari." Taichi smiled, proud of his suggestion.

The previous atmosphere evaporated like water. Amused chuckles and giggles erupted amongst the men of the room.

"Hehe," King Susumu chuckled rubbing his chin, "That's your big plan?"

"Goodness, Taichi! "Jyou adjusted his glasses, breaking out a relieved sigh and smile, "For a second there, I took you seriously."

Taichi bit his lip, "But, I am–"

"That's something only Taichi would suggest," Koushiro laughed shaking his head to loosen some of this spinning wheels.

The three of them started chuckling slightly louder. Having Taichi boil up with a firm frown. Yeah it was a farfetched idea. But Taichi didn't see the need to start laughing.

"Prince Taichi…" Catherine remained less animated than the other men, and bore holes into Taichi's frame with questioning eyes, "Are you joking?"

"…" Taichi felt nervousness salivate his mouth, "I'm not joking." He clenched his jaw, firming his entire stance proving that he wasn't messing around.

The amused chuckles swelled up to widened eyes and gaping mouths.

"What do you mean you're not joking? You do realize what you said right?" Jyou was starting to lose his composure at Taichi's crazy idea.

"Taichi-sama..." Koushiro smacked his palm against his forehead.

Taichi growled looking at everyone's expressions, "I'm serious! If that flower is going to save Hikari, let's go and get it! Who cares if it's in the Demon Forest!"

"Sorry Prince Taichi," Sweet hearted Catherine raised her eyebrows coldly at Taichi, "Even I think that's a dumb idea."

Taichi felt his face growing hot, "Well what other option do we have? Flowers only exist in the Demon Forest right? Then we can just go over and get it!"

"Young Prince," Jyou put down his book and looked at Taichi. Positive that all of the stress and repetition were going to give him gray hairs, "You want us to go into the Demon Forest. The _Demon Forest, _the lands where every single blood-thirsty and deranged mongrel lives and thrives. The place so horrifying and terrible that not even The Wall can keep those wretched demons at bay?"

"Yes." Taichi stated not even flickering in posture, "If they can scale a 50 foot stone wall then so can we."

"That's not the point Taichi-sama," Koushiro added in, knowing full well how thick-skulled the young prince can be, "The point is whoever goes into the forest doesn't come back. Humans can't survive in that forest."

Taichi remained quiet, midst everyone's critical stares. He knew that the Demon Forest was deadly. A human walking in there was just as good as suicide. But he was strong, there's a chance –even if it's a slim one of him coming back alive, "Okay fine. Then, we won't go in there."

Everyone started to relax, glad that that brief moment of crisis was averted.

"I'll just go in the forest."

Apprehension rose again as they remember it was Taichi they were dealing with.

"That doesn't change anything!" Jyou raised his arms up and started yelling in sheer panic, "That just makes matters worse! Don't you understand Prince Taichi?! You take one step into the Demon Forest and YOU DIE! Die a horrible, painful death!"

"I'm not scared of death!" Taichi countered, "I'm not scared of Demons or their stupid forest either."

"Like that's wise," Koushiro murmured and let out a large sigh, "You probably said a similar thing this morning."

"What is that supposed to mean!" Taichi screamed at the red head, Koushiro feebly apologized and sulked next to Catherine. Who smiled and gave him a comforting pat on the back. Taichi growled and continued, "Ugh, I know it's dangerous. And most of the people who have gone in there haven't made it back."

"Not most of them, all of them Prince Taichi."

"I know that Jyou!"

"Then why are you even suggesting it Taichi!" King Susumu pushed Jyou to the side and stood in front of his son.

"Well someone has to do something about this! No one else is willing too!" Taichi shifted tones knowing full well what his father is capable of.

"Taichi!" King Susumu yelled with both his monarch and parental authority, "Do I look like someone who isn't willing to do anything?"

"Well no…"

"Or the type to let his own son do his dirty work?"

"…No father."

"Would I be much of a King, a leader, a _father_, if let _you_. My own flesh and blood, my healthy son who will take over the throne, die so easily?"

"But dad, please…"

"No, Taichi." King Susumu cut him off, "I will not allow my son to run off to his death."

"I'm not going there to die!" Taichi pleaded, "You worry so much about me failing, why not try trusting that I will succeed? Why don't you try believing that I will come back, and with the flower that will save Hikari's life!"

"Because I already know that you won't be coming back!" King Susumu shouted, "I know that you, me, everyone else in this kingdom are only human!Those demons would rip you apart limb by limb and think nothing of it!"

"Oh and that's supposed to scare me!" Taichi contended back, "Demons this, Demons that. Until we stand up to them nothing is going to change! I'm not scared of them! And I won't let demons stop me from trying to save Hikari!"

"What a foolish son I have raised! This isn't just about you Taichi. It is about what you are! You are the prince of this kingdom! What will happen to the future without you?"

"Oh so Hikari doesn't matter?"

"Of course she does! Open up your ears and listen for once! Yes Hikari is important; she has been the shining light for the people in these dark days. But Taichi. You, you are the only path for the Southern Kingdom to travel. You give people courage to live another day, because they can cling onto the hope that things will change when you come to take the throne. Yes it will be hard loosing Hikari. But if we also lost you at the same time…this Kingdom would fall apart! And nothing would stop the demons from taking over the human lands."

"Loosing, Loosing, Loosing," Taichi breathed in deeply, his shoulders drooping slowly with the pressure riding on his back, "If you would just trust me! You don't have to lose anything!"

"I've already lost your mother!" King Susumu sharply roared, silencing Taichi. Tears stinging the corners of his eyes, "I'd be damned if I lost you to those monsters! You are not going in that forest and that is **final**."

"That's has nothing to do with this!"

"That's enough out of you Taichi!"

"Okay, that's enough out of both of you." A tired voice that belonged to no other than Princess Hikari interjected from across the medical wing. Leaning against the door frame of the room where she was previously resting, Hikari stood there wiping off some of the cold sweat on her brow. Her hair was tousled, face pale, and the cotton dress she was changed into was crinkled.

"Princess," Jyou snapped into doctor mode, immediately rushing to Hikari's side, "You shouldn't be out of bed. You are hurt and weak, you need to rest in order to regain your strength."

"Oh hush Jyou, I'm fine. Honest I am!" Hikari squeezed Jyou's hands trying to push the doctor's worries at bay. Jyou responded with a frown, to which Hikari smiled at.

"Princess, please it's obvious that you aren't well."

"Jyou really I'm okay," She let go of the doctor's hands and turned to face her family members, "Besides, how am I suppose to rest with these two yelling like sirens and banshees." King Susumu and Taichi both glared at one another.

"We wouldn't be yelling if Father would just listen." Taichi stonily grumbled.

"I am at my wits end with you boy!" Taichi's father snarled, "I should ship you off to another Kingdom! That way you might be able to learn simple manners and common sense!"

"That's a blessing not a punishment!"

"Stop it you two." Hikari got in between the both of them, figuratively and literally, "Now you are just _trying_ to fight. And pointless fights aren't going to help anyone."

"But if he would just trust me!"

"If he would just learn his place!"

"Both of you stop talking this instant!" Hikari smacked their arms, making them shut their mouths immediately. They knew they stepped over the line if Hikari was the one yelling at them. The princess may have been born physically weaker but she was still a Yagami, "And listen up –the both of you!"

Hikari fixed her hair and smoothed out her dress, "I understand the basic gist of everything," She changed her tone. She spoke softly like how a teacher would when trying to get through to a student. Taichi could feel the anger fizzling out of his frame. Susumu looked at his mature daughter with anxiety, "I know that the poison I contracted is deadly. And I'm guessing that the only antidote comes from a plant within the Demon Forest."

"Yeah." Taichi mewled out like a kicked puppy, "It's a flower. The white yarrow or something. But I can go get it! You don't have to die! I can sa–"

"Onii-san." Hikari curtly stopped her brother from getting carried away and rambling off reasons. She couldn't help herself from smiling despite her grave situation. She knew her brother, and knew him well. She couldn't help but feel fortunate to have such a caring older brother.

"Hikari, I–"

"I know you want to go get that flower. It doesn't matter what stands in your way, you won't be scared or deterred. Not with my life on the line," Hikari looked at her father and silently nodded to him. He sighed with relief; stepping out of the way knowing full well that Hikari would be able of handling Taichi, "But Taichi, Dad's right. You can't go into the Demon Forest."

"Huh?" Taichi widened his eyes at his sister, "Don't you know what's going to happen to you if I don't go?"

"I know," Hikari remained calm and cool unlike her hot headed brother, "And I also know what would happen to you if went in there. Onii-san, you would die. Maybe there is a chance you won't. But it's too small for you to take that gamble."

"You are worth any gamble!" Taichi wasn't yelling out of anger but out of disbelief. It was obvious Jyou, Koushiro and even Catherine would be against his choice. He definitely knew that his father would oppose him. But he had figured Hikari would stand by his resolution. Like how she always would.

"Nii-san, please." Hikari sighed out, mentally taking note of how she is going to have to use her backup plan, "For my sake. I don't want you to go in there."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"If that was the case, then there wouldn't be any need for all this arguing."

"I mean that I'm okay with this. If you aren't afraid of death, then why should I be?"

"That's not–"

"It's exactly the same. You are willing to risk your life to save me. So I'm going to do the same. I can't exactly say that I'm looking forward to it," Hikari emphasize trying her hardest to be strong, "I'm a part of this family too. And I have a right to decide what to do with my life. So I will lay my life down in order to protect the ones I love."

"Hikari!"

"So please, _please. _Don't say such reckless things."

"…" Taichi looked at Hikari his mouth tightly shut as if breathing was heinous. He had always seen her as his little sister, someone who needed him to watch over her –to protect her. Hikari was always wise for her age; she always excelled in her academics while Taichi goofed off. She always did as she was told while Taichi was busy trying to make things more 'exciting'. No matter how mature Hikari was, she always was his baby sister. And it was hard for him let go of that notion, "…Okay. I won't say things like that anymore."

Everyone in the room took a huge breath, content with the fact that Hikari had managed to talk sense into Taichi. Hikari smiled, thanking her older brother with a hug. King Susumu smiled at his children and joined in as well. The family hugged each other closely but their hearts heavy.

"Catherine, come on. Let's go prepare Her Grace's room," Jyou ordered Catherine and walked out of the medical wing. Catherine quietly followed, holding a sad smile on her face.

"King Susumu, anything you need before you go to bed?" Koushiro asked politely.

"I'll be alright for tonight." King Susumu responded still holding his family tight. Koushiro bowed with respect and left the room just as the family had started pulling apart from one another, "Come on kids. Let's go to bed." The gentle father wrapped his arms around Hikari, the both of them walking ahead of Taichi.

Taichi took a quick glimpse behind him, and saw the flower encyclopedia Jyou was reading earlier. Quietly and quickly, he stepped backward and snatched the book. Making sure that his family or castle personnel didn't see him with the book, Taichi walked away from everyone else as normally as he could.

* * *

It was well into the night. The dust clouds wisped through the air, the white moon peeking through and shining its silver light in thin rays. The castle guards stood ready at their respective posts. They were alert and careful, ready to jump into action if anything suspicious entered their plane of sight.

Good thing for Taichi that none of the guards had a habit of looking up.

"Alright," Taichi looked at his handiwork from on top of the bell tower, the highest point in all of the Southern Kingdom. With a stroke of luck, Taichi had managed to shoot an arrow at The Wall and successful strung a rope that connected the two monuments, "Here goes nothing." Taichi unstrung his bow and hooked himself on the rope. Testing to see if the rope still held its elasticity, the determined prince kicked off the edge of the bell tower and slid down the rope.

Accelerating at a constant rate, Taichi was zooming through the air with ease. His semi-muscular frame was almost invisible due the dark clothes he was wearing. The weapons he had brought were secured tightly to not make any noise, and his brown knapsack was packed lightly as to further add to his stealth.

Taichi figured the best way to get over The Wall, was to shoot an arrow attached with rope and connect the highest point of the castle and to the stone fortress and then sling down the rope. So far his plan was going well. Taichi had managed to get from his room with his 'demon forest necessities' to the bell tower without anyone noticing him. The rope he had chosen was strong enough to hold his weight, and he sliding past the castle grounds with ease.

But he was still terrible at archery.

"Ow!" Taichi reflexively shouted out as his face collided with the stone face of The Wall. After a few moments of groaning in pain, he detached himself from the stone. Taichi sprouted a childish pout as he looked up. The arrow he had shot earlier was at least three feet underneath where it should be.

"Stupid archery. Stupid bow and arrow." He cursed silently, as he shuffled along the rope line, briefly forgetting how high he was up in the air. Grumbling the entire time, he swiftly swung himself from the lifeline and grabbed one of the protruding stone bricks on the face of The Wall. The bow he was hooked on forgotten, and it plummeted to the ground.

"I guess it could be worse," Taichi growled under his breath. He scaled upwards, not even heeding the idea that one slip of his hand would have him tumbling to his death, "I could have forgotten to wear gloves!" He smiled as he grabbed the rim of The Wall, and hoisted himself up.

Pulling himself up onto The Wall, Taichi pat his hands tossing off the small amounts of rock and grit that clung to his gloves. He had made it successfully to the famous Wall. The huge solid stone border to the Demon Forest that his ancestors had spent decades building.

"Not here for sightseeing," Not wanting to waste any more time, Taichi reached into his loose canvas bag and pulled out a skinnier coil of rope.

The Demon Forest rolled out an eerie wind. A breeze that grew icier with each step he took as Taichi walked towards the omniscient trees. The canopy of the forest grazed the border of The Wall. Smaller branches swayed with the wind, while the firmer branches were strong and loomed above the human prince.

Shaking off the chills of the dark woods, Taichi got to work and tied the rope to one of the branches. Tugging it tight as to make sure that it was secure.

Taichi looked down from his standpoint, "I should have brought a torch…." He spoke out loud. He wasn't sure if it was the darkness of the night or the forest itself. But Taichi couldn't see the bottom; all he saw was black enveloping darkness.

Taking a nervous gulp, Taichi took out the flower encyclopedia that he had stowed away in his knapsack, "White Yarrows are not as aesthetic to the purple and yellow counter parts." Taichi held the book up to the few rays of moonlight and read aloud, "However, they retain the best healing properties, ranging from mild colds to harsh illnesses, all depending on the amount of petals used."

He flipped the page, "Yarrows are invasive plants that flourish open fields so long as the seeds can break open in soft enough soil. Wait, Jyou was blabbing about that earlier," Taichi skimmed down the page, "They have multiple buds per stem. The purple and vibrant yarrows are bright and eye catching. But the white yarrow is pale and can retain dust easily."

"So then, open field, pale white and dirty, and grab a lot of them. Seems easy enough." Taichi listed and stuffed the book back inside his bag. He held the rope tightly; looking down at the woods whose gravity seemed to be heavier.

"_Humans can't survive in that forest." _

"_You want to go into the Demon Forest? The Demon Forest!"_

"_Even I think it's a dumb idea."_

"_I'm not letting my son run off to his death!"_

"Sorry guys," Taichi took one last breath of safety before jumping off The Wall. Sliding down on the rope, he could feel the chilliness of the forest engulf him. As if he was diving into the ocean.

The moonlight slowly inched towards darkness at the same rate as Taichi was gliding down. Soon the only source of light was a strange unearthly mist that had a soft pale glow.

Taichi tentatively stepped onto the ground. It was soft and almost mushy. The exact opposite of the hard, cracked ground he had been growing up on. The forest was silent, only a few leaves and foreign plant matter that rustled against each other.

Taichi's cinnamon eyes adjusted to the best of their humane potential. Taichi could see the strong trunks of trees, some green things growing which he was guessing were plants. There weren't any roads, or even pathways. Just spaces in between trees which he would have to fit through.

He could go back up the rope. Head back into his room. Listen to what everyone was telling him and behave properly.

"_Please Onii-san. Don't say such reckless things."_

"I won't say reckless things Hikari," Taichi whispered to himself, adjusted the straps on his bag and readjusted sheathes of the daggers and stilettos, "But I will save your life one way or another."

And with that, Taichi started venturing into the Demon Forest.

* * *

"Damn it all to hell!" Taichi screamed out loud not caring if anything heard him, "What the fuck is up with this forest!" He exploded his frustrations by kicking the multitude of flowers that were growing on an open field of green grass.

"_Humans die in that forest,_" Taichi mocked Koushiro's voice while still beating down on the poor plants "It's not like demons are running around killing off any human that walks by. This place is just confusing as hell to navigate!"

Getting bored of venting on the unresponsive flowers, Taichi huffed and marched along, "This is stupid. I have already found the flowers!" The prince eyed the open patch of flowers around him. The book he had read was accurate; there were yarrows all over this area going from his desired white to purple and yellow. Hell, there were even red and pink ones! Taichi shifted around his bag which he had filled to the brim with white yarrows, "Ugh, I haven't come across one demon, and I got the 'rare' white yarrows."

"So why can't I find my way back!" Taichi screamed at the top of his lungs, shaking his fists in the air.

At first he was thrilled that he had come across the white yarrow with relative ease. He figured he was lucky that he hadn't seen any demons. But he didn't keep track of how he got to this open field. And now he was running around in circles, completely and utterly lost.

"Next time I come back to this forest, I'm bringing map supplies!" Taichi grumbled, marching off in a direction he hadn't tired as of yet. He was tired, jumping over tree roots, squinting through the smokiness of the woods, and then gathering all the white yarrows was taxing. Reaching the end of the open field, Taichi once again maneuvered through the trees and other unidentifiable plants hoping that this time he was heading in the right direction.

Darkness illuminated by the mystical mist once again greeted him, but after running around in the woods for so long, this setting was more annoying than scary. Taichi looked around the ground, seeing the plant matter change from blades of green and multiple flowers to some spongy looking green moss and dead leaves. He groaned, unsure if this was the right way or not. Each tree, each plant, even each rock and clump of dirt looked so different and weird.

"Stupid forest," Taichi kicked some dirt, not even caring anymore if it was sticking to his boots and pants. He continued walking, climbing over any big roots and watching where he was stepping. He had already slipped and fell a couple of times and as evidence his shirt and pants had streaks of mud.

Walking in the somewhat straight direction, Taichi started noticing the area around him gradually change. The dead foliage that littered the ground were growing sparse, the darkness that clung the air grew brighter. The trees that were so closely knit starting separating, distance increasing as he continued in his direction.

"Another clearing," He noticed the similar patterns, and marched more confidently. He stepped out of the condensed trees and to the open area which he hadn't been too before, "…" Taichi blinked. This place was certainly different than any other clearing he had visited.

For one, the ground here was a little firmer. Not as hard as the gravel like ground from his home, but definitely not muddy. In the center were sectioned bushes of flowers. Curiously Taichi stepped toward them. These bushes had tangled stems within them and colored flower blossoms.

"It doesn't really look like these naturally grew here," Taichi deductively whispered. There were eight bushes in total. All arranged perfectly in a circle, spaced out evenly and with nothing in the center. Taichi walked through the space and stood in the middle of the strange plants looking dubiously around him.

The flowers on each of the bushes looked alike; they had layers and layers of petals circling around the center of the flower. While they all were parallel, most of them had distinct variation in color.

The bush Taichi was directly across from had black flowers. The petals were opaque like untampered onyx, dark and looming. The two bushes next to black flowers were yellow, a harsh yellow that managed settled down enough against the green stem-like bush.

To the left and right of Taichi were pink flowers. He sweetly smiled, remembering how Hikari often wore the same shade of pink. His eyes were busy hopping across the colorful flowers. Unknowingly he turned around to face the other half of the circle.

The next two bushes had blood-red flowers. The red hue was striking, the bright color creating dark crimson folds that tried to capture Taichi's eyes. The chocolate eyes tore away from the red flower shrubs and gaze upon the final flower bush that was nestled in the middle of the red flowers.

Taichi felt his breath get stuck in his throat. The last bush had a sensationally familiar shade of blue flowers.

The flowers were unlike the rest, the hue was brilliant, standing alone against the rest of the flowers with a crystalline shine that mirrored shining droplets of the blue ocean. Each petal of the flower retained such mixed qualities of teal and cobalt. Taichi's comparably dull brown eyes were kept busy, his mind sucking in the cool palette with eagerness.

"Just like those eyes…" Taichi's mind drifted back to the wolf demon. The cerulean flowers did match the oceanic eyes perfectly. Just like the wolf demon's rich azure eyes, the blue color kept pulling Taichi closer, consuming his entire being with this foreign exhilarating feeling.

He couldn't comprehend this feeling. There was just something about this blue that made his heart race. He felt lost while the blood inside him gushed around. He supposed his favorite color was always blue, but that wouldn't be enough to explain this sensation.

It must be because of those gorgeous inhuman eyes. The wolf demon eyes held so much raw intensity that left Taichi feeling lightheaded. That color had something behind it, something profound and it made his emotions rage inside him. Taichi just didn't know what that emotion was, and the mystery of it kept pulling him back toward that blue, his mind only thinking about those eyes, and the incorrigible need to keep escaping into those depths.

Bewildered in his trance, Taichi reached out to the flowers. With unintended force, he grabbed one of the stems, ready to pluck it off of the shrub.

"Ow!" Taichi's reflexes kicked in and he retracted his hand with impetuous speed. On his palms were lines of red dots of pierced skin. Along the back of his hand and his wrists were bright red scratches all over. He glared at the bush, hand still throbbing in discomfort. Taichi noticed triangle spikes were spaced throughout the stems of each flower. Some triangle's tips had traces of Taichi's red blood on them.

"Mean flowers," He immaturely muttered, feeling let down. Taichi flexed his hand, squeezing the pricks in his skin and seeing miniscule amounts of blood poke through, "That hurt." He continued rubbing his hand and kissed his palm, focused on trying to sooth the piercing pokes.

And didn't realize how he was no longer alone.

"Who are you?" A melodic voice ripped right through Taichi's ears.

The low harmonious voice sent tingles down the teenage prince's spine. Taichi whipped around toward the voice's direction. Coming face to face with the other being Taichi's breath got stuck in his throat and clumsily stammered backward.

He was now joined by someone. At least he thought it was a 'someone' to Taichi he looked…human. Whatever it was, he was taller than Taichi. Who had a lean frame to the point of being thin. With pale skin and light blond hair that was spiked in several directions, he certainly didn't look like he had come from any human kingdom.

And he was spouting those beautiful cool blue eyes.

"Well this is unexpected," The other being coolly mentioned. Eyeing the human up and down as he stepped closer to the intruder.

"It's…you!" Taichi piped out freezing under those icy eyes.

The blond smirked at the human's outburst and stepped within the brunet's personal space. His eyes flashed with an unknown emotion as he saw the human tense up, and clumsily step backwards.

"So tell me," The forest dweller grabbed ahold of the human prince. His blue eyes staring right into the shorter man's brown eyes, he couldn't help giving him a playful smirk, "What's a human like you doing in my rose garden?"

* * *

HAHAHA! I'm terrible and will end it here!

Sorry it got waaaay too long again. I'll try and work on that I promise. :D

So I am not good at narration. I love voice. I love tone, so if I'm in third person I often had to write parts that are well, just narration. It's hard for me to write like that in interesting ways, I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as consistent as the first. I know my transitions are faulty, I rewrote them several times till I just couldn't think of any more revisions.

Leave you feedback. I appreciate every review and viewpoint I get. After all how could I improve?

Thank you everyone for reading.


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